A BAD WEEK-END.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 23, 26 December 1925, Page 8

A BAD WEEK-END.

ACCIDENTS IN SYDNEY. THREE DEATHS RESULT. SYDNEY, Dec. 17. Sydney’s week-ends recently have invaluably produced a red roll of motor accidents. Last week-end was one of the most tragic. A loose plank on a bridge near Penrith indirectly caused the death of a man and woman and serious injury to 14 others on Sunday morning. A party of 20 in a motor lorry was en route to a picnic at Colyton. Near St. Mary's a loose plank on a bridge over Roper’s Creek caught in the back wheels, caused the lorry to swerve, the driver lost control, and it jumped the edge of the bridge, landing wheels up on tho bank of tlio creek six feet below.

Of the twenty occupants, only four escaped injury. They were thrown clear when the lorry toppled over. Tho others were pinned underneath. Mary Murphy', 52, of Bourke street, Darlinghurst, whose skull was fractured, and Richard Land, 46, of the same address, who received severe concussion of the brain, both died in hospital some hours after admission.

Nine others were admitted to hospital suffering all manner of injuries, while five were treuted and allowed to go home. The lorry was smashed. Two women were hurt, one severing a facial artery, when a car crashed into a telegraph pole at Bondi, and the occupants were thrown through the windscreen. A boy jumped from a tramcar in front of tho car, and the driver swerved to avoid hitting him, striking the pole before she could straighten the car again. George Cridland, a well-known horsetrainer, was knocked down by a tramcar at one of the busiest city intersections on Saturday night, and was later admitted to hospital suffering extensive injuries. Police declare that the tram, which knocked Cridland cion'.a, failed to stop at the intersection, and the driver was arrested and charged with drunkenness.

A child of eight years of age was badly injured at Balmain when she was crossing the road. A tramcar slowed down to give the girl time to cross, but a car travelling abreast of the tram failed to see her in time. She was admitted to hospital with a fractured skull and other extensive injuries. A shocking tragedy occurred at Cessnock, t in the Newcastle district, on Saturday afternoon. Driving a motor lorry across the railway line, Alexander Muir crashed into the footpath, knocked against two children, and then ran into the railway fence. One, a girl, aged seven years, died almost immediately, and the other, a boy, was taken to hospital with a broken jaw and other injuries. They were walking home arm in arm from the pictures when tho smash occurred.

Muir and his son, who were together on the lorry, were arrested and charged with drunkenness while m charge of a vehicle.